New Telescope Donated to Physics Department, Astronomy Club

The Birzeit University Physics Department and Astronomy Club received a new telescope as a gift from the Center for Astronomy and Space Sciences at Al-Aqsa University in Gaza. The telescope was donated by the UNESCO Chair in Astronomy, Astrophysics and Space Physics in Palestine Suleiman Baraka, under the auspices of former university president Hanna Nasir.

The telescope was shipped from Gaza in coordination with the French Cultural Center and was received on June 2, 2014. The telescope will play an important role in promoting astronomy among new generations and students of Birzeit who are amateur astronomers, said Wafaa Khater and Safi Safi from the physics department.

The Birzeit University astronomy club has organized an open night on June 7, 2014 to test the new telescope and view the sky at night from the roof of the science faculty building. The moon, Saturn, and Mars were viewed and interesting photos were taken. More of these events will be organized soon.